Skip to main content

Do Not Fear

             So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

 Yesterday, my neighbor talked about the old saw of “God won’t give you more than you can handle,” and expressed her doubts about the idea. I responded that it was not true. If God only gave us what we could handle, we’d have no need for God. The whole idea is that we walk through what we can’t handle with Him. That conversation fits nicely with today’s verse. We’re not to not fear because it’s not as tough as it seems, and we’re guaranteed that we can handle it, we’re to not fear because He is with us.

Similarly, we’re not to dismay (be filled with consternation of distress) because He’s not just with us, but He’s God – our God. One of the sad things about the pantheons of gods is that they don’t really have control. If Zeus wants something to happen, there’s always the possibility that his wife or one of his children will get in the way or vice versa. The fact that God is your God and is the only God means that you don’t have to worry about someone getting in His way.

However, the next line is not, “I will make everything easy,” or “I will solve all your problems.” It is that He will strengthen you. Strength often comes from resistance. You build muscle by lifting heavy weights. God can miraculously strengthen us, but that’s a short-term solution. The goal is that we become strong. He will help us but not do it for us.

And He will uphold you with His righteous right hand. In order for Him to do that, you must be righteous and do what is righteous. If He upholds you indefinitely and you aren’t righteous and don’t even want to be righteous, eventually, He would no longer be righteous, gracious, loving, kind, or just because He would be complicit in your sin or negligent in His love.

Instead, He works all things for our good and for the good of everyone else. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more